Godolphin dominated the third day of Doncaster’s St Leger meeting when potential Group 1 winners Sand Vixen and Al Zir were successful on Friday.

Sand Vixen blitzed her rivals in the G2 Flying Childers and broke the juvenile record clocking 58.1s for 1000m.  She was always travelling smoothly for Frankie Dettori and swept to a one length victory over front-runner Bould Mover (Kyllachy).

“She’s improved no end,” Dettori said.  “She’s a little pocket rocket and the (G1) Cheveley Park will suit her really well.”

Sand Vixen (2f Dubawi – Fur Will Fly by Petong) had won her maiden second time out at Kempton and followed up with a G3 placing in the Princess Margaret Stakes at Royal Ascot before breaking through at black-type level in the Listed St Hugh’s Stakes at Newbury last month.

Her sire Dubawi is making every post a winner in his quest for first-season honours in UK-Ireland this year.  Sand Vixen was his first stakes winner when she won at Newbury on August 14 and his individual winner tally increased to 21 when the Sheikh Hamdan owned colt Shaayeq scored at Epsom on September 3.

Dubawi is a son of Sheikh Mohammed favourite Dubai Millenium and he can sire another G2 winner on Saturday when Godolphin colt Poet’s Voice starts a short-priced favourite in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster.

Dubawi was a G1 winner of the Irish National Stakes at two and defeated Oratorio in the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas the following year.  He ran an admirable third behind Motivator in the English Derby before bowing out after finishing second to Starcraft in a thrilling renewal of the 2005 G1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Newmarket.

Dubawi shuttled to Darley Australia for the first time in 2006 and his top-priced first-crop southern-bred yearling was the $450,000 half-brother Takeover Target and Predatory Price at the Inglis Easter sale.

Sheikh Mohammed’s boom colt Al Zir was promoted to a clear 16-1 favourite for the 2010 English Derby after making all the pace to win a restricted event by five lengths on Friday.  “We’ve liked him from day one and he’s a horse for next year,” trainer Saeed Bin Suroor said.  “He finished the race well when Frankie asked him.”

Al Zir (2c Medaglia D´Oro – Bayou Plans by Bayou Hebert) was a US$1.6 million buy for Sheikh Mohammed at the Fasig-Tipton 2yo Sale at Calder on March 3.  “He impressed in every department,” Godolphin agent John Ferguson said at Calder before adding prophetically, “He could be very effective on the race track.”

Within weeks of buying the colt, Sheikh Mohammed purchased Medaglia d’Oro (El Prado) who is the sire of champion filly Rachel Alexandra.

Al Zir, who was offered by Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree Stables at Florida, is a half brother to Midas Eyes (Touch Gold) who was a G1 winner of the 2004 Forego Hcp at Saratoga.  He stands at Empire Stud in Hudson, NY and his first crop juveniles this year includes the Listed winning fillies Precious Song (CARF Debutante Stakes) and Deposit Record (Prairie Gold Juvenile Stakes).